By Amy Curtis | October 2025

In this issue: New: nurse burnout indicators and nurse economic value model; Geriatric workforce training opportunity; and Nurses really can do (almost) anything! 

This newsletter is 1,088 words long, about a 5-minute read.

New Nurse Burnout Indicators

The American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL), in partnership with Laudio, a healthcare workflow platform, released a new report on nurse burnout. The report identifies key warnings that predict burnout including:

Definition alert: AONL defines early-tenure as the first 12-18 months of a nurse's career.

In Kansas, the prevalence of RNs feeling burned out once a week or more dropped from 55.9% in 2022 to 42.4% in 2024. LPNs in Kansas also showed an improvement in burnout going from 50% in 2022 to 44.9% in 2024. (State of Nursing in Kansas, Volume 2, pages 39 and 57).

Our thought bubble: As the nursing shortage in Kansas continues, employers can leverage these early warning signs of burnout to better retain their nursing workforce.

New: Nurse Economic Value Model

Historically, nursing has been viewed as a cost driver, not a value-add, in healthcare economic models. A new model from researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and Marquette University College of Nursing hope to change that. They introduced the Nursing Human Capital Value Model.

The goal: reframe how nurses are traditionally viewed, highlighting the expertise that drives clinical excellence and financial stability. It aims to show the return on investment for organizations that employ nurses.

The model shows that investing in nurses creates a cycle of high-quality care, improved outcomes, and increased revenue for healthcare systems. Conversely, the model shows that underinvestment in nurses can lead to diminished productivity, higher costs, and long-term financial risk.

This study echoes findings in the State of Nursing in Kansas, Volume 1 (pages 50-51). Our analysis showed the relationship between County Health Rankings in Kansas and the number of licensed nurses per thousand population. There is a direct and significant correlation: the counties with more licensed nurses have better health and wellbeing measures; the counties with fewer nurses have lower quality of life and die younger.

Why it matters: Models like this help employers know how to invest to sustain and retain their valuable nursing staff.

Nursing Home “Action Community” Opportunity

Register to be a Nursing Home/Nurse Educator Action Community member through the Kansas 4M Geriatrics Workforce Education Program.

The free, virtual training program uses an evidence-based age-friendly health systems framework known as the 4Ms:

Why should you sign up?

Learn more and register. 

Kansas 4M Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).The award provided 100% of total costs and totaled $5 million with funding from 07/01/2024 through 06/30/2029. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official views of, nor an endorsement by, HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information visit HRSA.gov.

October Research Committee Meeting

Watch a recording of the October research committee meeting where Dr. Shin Hye Park and Dr. Alex Alsup, reviewed the “State of Nursing in Kansas: Workforce Trends, 2015-2025”:

The next scheduled meeting is November 20, 2025 from 10-11 a.m. Dr. Heather Nelson-Brantley, Associate Professor at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, will present on “the Relationship Between Social Media Use, Nurse Characteristics, and Job Decision-Making.”

Led by Shin Hye Park, PhD, RN, the Research Committee facilitates and promotes collaborative nurse research activities across the state. The committee's goal is to leverage research talent to better serve the healthcare community of Kansas, advance the field of nursing and healthcare and strengthen the nursing workforce in Kansas.

Sign up here to receive the Research Committee meeting link. Please send to colleagues who may also wish to attend.

Nurses Really Can Do (almost) Anything

Two stories this month reinforced that the idea that nurses really can do anything!

Story 1: Dame Sarah Mullally, a former Chief Nursing Officer and director of patient experience for National Health Services England, was named Archbishop of Canterbury, the first female to hold the lead the Church of England.

Story 2: The New York Times reports that NFL players are choosing to become nurses after leaving the field. In the January 2024 issue of this newsletter, we profiled Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire as he prepared for the Super Bowl.

We noted the commonalities between professional football and nursing: patience, instinct, vision, awareness, teamwork. The NYT also points out that stamina, compassion, and poise under pressure are also commonalities.

Both are notable examples of the breadth and depth of this amazing career!

Congrats, Academy Fellows!

The Kansas Nursing Workforce Center would like to give a hearty congratulations to the newest Fellows inducted in the American Academy of Nursing this month at the October Health Policy Conference. There were more than 295 inductees in the 2025 class.

We’d like to specifically congratulate Kansas inductees:

And we’d like to congratulate our colleague, Dr. Rayna Letourneau, PhD, RN, Executive Director and Associate Professor, University of South Florida College of Nursing and President, Florida Center for Nursing.

Each of these nurse leaders embody the Academy’s vision for healthy lives for all people. Cheers!

—Barbara MacArthur and Amy Garcia

Kansas Nursing Workforce Center

Share Your Thoughts

We are collecting information for the State of Nursing Education in Kansas report, set to publish in 2026, and we’d love to include your thoughts.

Questions include:

Access the form:

We may use your ideas in this publication.

What We’re Reading

Recycled But Important

Download your copy of the State of Nursing in Kansas, Volume 2. This edition tracks trending data from 2015 to 2025.

Have Kansas Nursing Workforce news, solutions, or kudos you’d like us to share?
Email nursingwill@kumc.edu

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